fear

most composers of the romantic period, were close to talented slaves, they were actually. smitten by the fact that they were poor and all, none of them actually dared to rebel, in the sense whereby they refused to write music.
but Beethoven on the other hand, was something different. a crucial figure in the transformation from classical to romantic. he was not like other musicians. he drawed money from the middle class, he did not look up to the rich, nor respect them. once, when a duke had giggled during one of his concerts, he called him a swine, and told him to leave as the hall was booked for people who apprieciated music.
Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, typhus, auto-immune disorder (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The explanation, from the autopsy of the time, is that he had a "distended inner ear" which developed lesions over time.Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.^[43] He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, typhus, auto-immune disorder (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The explanation, from the autopsy of the time, is that he had a "distended inner ear" which developed lesions over time.

dont rake up the past?

who forgets war, take ww2 for example, elders who lived through the ordeal are forever haunted by it.

The Japanese had told the people of Singapore that they had come to set them free from British rule. However, the people of all races found that they were not freed. Instead, they had new masters. In fact, they lived in fear of their new Japanese rulers.

Barbed wire was put across the roads to form roadblocks. Japanese guards then bullied the people passing by, sometimes making them kneel on the roadside for hours. Once, a cyclist who tried to ride away when the Japanese guard was not looking was caught. He was made to kneel down and was then hit on the head until he fainted. The Japanese soldiers wanted everyone to obey them and to show them respect. Whenever anyone passed a Japanese soldier on guard duty, he had to bow to him. If he did not do so, he would be slapped, kicked or punished in some other way.

The Malays suffered under the Japanese. Some Malays were arrested from the streets by Japanese soldiers and sent to Thailand to build the Death Railway. They were not spared if they did something wrong as the Japanese did not hesitate to beat them or chop off their heads.

The Japanese wanted the Indians to join the Indian National Army (I.N.A.) to fight against the British in India. However, many Indian soldiers (mainly Sikhs) and the Gurkhas in the British Army refused to join the I.N.A.. Some of those who refused were killed. The Indians, too, were not spared from the Death Railway.

The Eurasians also suffered under the Japanese because they looked like Europeans. Many were put in prison camps. Several of the Eurasians were members of the Singapore Volunteer Corps and had fought against the Japanese. Those suspected of helping the British were shot.

It was the Chinese who suffered the most. They had actively helped China in its fight against Japan. To punish them, the Japanese told all Chinese men between 18 and 50 years of age (sometimes women and children too) to report at certain centres. There, they were "examined" by the Japanese. There was no proper way for deciding who was anti-Japanese. At some centres, men wearing hoods or masks would simply point out certain people as enemies of the Japanese.

Those who were identified as anti-Japanese were not allowed to go home. Some were given a small piece of paper stamped with the word "Examined". The word could be stamped onto their shirts or arms and became an important pass which allowed them to avoid further questioning by the Japanese.

However, there were thousands who were identified as being anti-Japanese. These were taken in lorries to Changi Beach and other beaches on the east coast.

The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya were also forced to form the Overseas Chinese Association and were made to contribute $50 million towards Japan's war efforts. The Chinese leaders found it hard to raise the money. Though they were prepared to sell their houses, no one could afford to buy them. The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya could collect only $28 million altogether and had to borrow the rest from a Japanese bank.

it is from this past we remember our mistakes and improve

are we becoming too reliant on shortcuts

everyone should know about the prestigious 'windows 7', the one fitted with shortcuts at almost every inch of the screen. the question is, are we becoming too reliant on these shortcuts. technology is constantly improving, everything is getting better. things are looking up, and almost never look down. what if there was a day, where all of us had to use the ol'fashioned 'windows 97' again, will those who are overly IT-savvy ever survive?
allow me to relate a LIVE example: i have and old 'windows XP' laptop, and a new-and-improved 'windows 7' desktop. i frequently used the 'windows 7', until the E-learning day. my brother had woken up early to use the 'windows 7', so i had to use the old 'windows XP'. many a time, i forgot the 'hey! i'm not using the 7 anymore, no shortcuts everywhere!' i had a real hard time at the XP!
just think about it, all those people who know all the possible shortcuts. well, too bad for them i guess. they will have have to cope if this "computer downturn" ever turns its ugly face, then how will they cope?

the troubles of a third child

being a third child in the family, with two brothers awaiting the dreaded PSLE, it is not easy. take my brother for example. he waited for a year for my PSLE, and now he is waiting for another. so, what does he do to waste time while our mother is attending to us, who she spents the most time with during PSLE.
play our computer of course. he is almost addicted to it, trying to play it at every opportunity. we all feel it is detrimental to his health, but what can we do but give a sigh when we watch him play. he used to ask for 5 minutes and play for 5 minutes, but now, he asks for 5 minutes, but plays for 30 minutes. he is oblivious to how much time he has spent. now, we are all wondering, was it even wise to let him start in the first place.
so, my brother and i have tried countless times to stop him. but when he let out his mighty wail, we both had no choice but to interverne, and let him continue. he is somewhat abusing his 'power', just because he is young, he can throw his weights around without getting caned or punished.
well, even parents have failed. even after confiscation for half a month, he will go bak to normal afterwards. we are even planning to take away the whole PC, but morden Singapore, who can keep up without one.
so, this addiction

increasing vulgarities

now, there are more and more people who know the 'F-word', the 'B-word', and so on. what was considered rude and offensive to parents is the norm now, in morden day society. so, what is causing this, the internet, seniors from upper secondary, or is it by peers.
the internet is the most likely. if you click here, not that you want to, you can find avid contributers contributing the latest lingos, and also, some vulgarities along with it. since children are very IT-savvy nowadays, these words will circulate very quickly, and the result, a ruder and more vulgar society.
next will be the presence of vulgar seniors. people have a sort of misconception now. which is 'vulgarities are cool'. in a desperate bid to draw attention, they pick up words from the seniors, so that they can show other, 'hey, i know this word and you don't, so i am cooler and better than you. thus, those who are picked on will also try to learn more hokkien swear words, to prove that they are cooler. this cycle keeps repeating itself, till they all learn how to learn the worst of words, such as 'F***'.
lastly, the point on peers, it is very closely related to the above two points. peers will specially search for rude words. they want to make themselves seen, by making others laugh. they will try many means to do so, such as talking back to teachers, cracking racist jokes, and of couse back to our main topic, the use of vulgarities.
in conclusion, the main thing to me is attention. it is the need of attention, that draws out the worst in most.

the cons of fame

most want to be famous, who doesn't? is it not grand to have your name known far and wide, in a good way of course. take Cameron Diaz for a perfect example, who played Knight and day. i am sure she loves the fame and glory.
Yet, with all this fame and glory, Diaz is the figurehead for many online criminals. having been rated 'the most dangerous online celebrity', one in ten websites holding Cameron Diaz's name leads to risky websites designed to trick visitors into unwittingly downloading viruses that can seize control or computers or mine them for data, according to McAfee. and, Nineteen per cent of the websites in results for searches on the term "Cameron Diaz screen savers" were rigged with malicious code.

so, fame is good in a certain way, but when someone is too famous, that is when there will be trouble. unscrupulous people will use you as a figurehead, just to make a few 'idiots' suffer from the virus that they spread.

indirectly, you are the cause for their suffering and despair, because they saw YOU, that's why they were so tempted to click on the menacing link that introduced virus into their mainframe...

pampered?

Three people were missing and more than 50,000 evacuated from a city on Saturday after flooding along the Yalu river, which forms the border with North Korea, officials and state media said. this is what is happening in the Yalu River, China. About 230 homes have collapsed in the city of Dandong and some transport, power and communication links have been cut off but no casualties have been reported.
this is what is happening in Singapore: loss of valuables, no loss of homes, and the flood cleared in no time flat. but, 'kiasu' Singaporeans, whether living in the affected areas or not, are pressing over-demanding solutions from the government. maybe Singapore has become complacent, just because we have not had flash floods in decades, people make the biggest fuss out of the matter that China is facing, with at least 10 times the devastating effects compared to that of Singapore.
Singapore is just acting like a baby. and China is a mature man. China has matured through experiences like hurricanes and floods. yet Singapore is like a perfectly pampered child, making the biggest hoo-Ha over the smallest scratch.
maybe a natural disaster is what Singapore needs most at his point of time. people do not seem to treasure our lucky geographical on the globe. they have so much, yet they want so much more, China has always been able to stand back up after disasters, after being shaken emotionally and economically, why can't we?

why cant we learn fron China?